Distinguished Professor Alaina Ammit is Professor of Respiratory Pharmacology in the School of Life Sciences and Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science at UTS. These positions are held collaboratively with the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research where Alaina is Research Leader.

Distinguished Professor Ammit has an international reputation for her research elucidating the mechanistic basis of inflammation in chronic respiratory diseases. Graduating with BAppSc (Biomedical Science) from UTS (then NSWIT) in 1984, Alaina went onto complete both her MSc (1990) and PhD (1996) studies through the University of Sydney. She received prestigious fellowships to support her postdoctoral studies, including an NH&MRC CJ Martin Fellowship. Returning from her postdoctoral position at the University of Pennsylvania, she was appointed Lecturer at the Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Sydney in 2002 and on the strength and success of her research and teaching, was appointed Associate Dean (Research) 2006-2010, promoted to Professor in 2014 and Head of the Respiratory Research Theme (2013-2016). She was recruited to UTS in 2016 in a collaborative research position in the School of Life Sciences and was the inaugural director of the Woolcock Emphysema Centre (2016 -2022) and Chair of the Research Committee and Executive Committee Member at the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research (2024 - 2026). Alaina has served as Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science at UTS since 2018 and appointed Distinguished Professor in 2022 and was seconded to serve as interim Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research) (July-Dec 2025).

Awards, Fellowships and Distinctions:

2023     Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW (FRSN)

2022     Distinguished Professor, UTS

2022     Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD)

2013      Senior Medical Scientist Award, Lung Institute of Western Australia

2011       Thompson Fellowship, University of Sydney

2006     Young Tall Poppy Award, Australian Institute of Policy and Science

2005      Senior Medical Scientist Award, Asthma and Allergy Research Institute

2004      Scientific Visits to North America, Australian Academy of Science

2001       Johnson & Johnson Research Postdoctoral Research Award, Australian Society of Medical Research (ASMR)

1998       CJ Martin Fellowship, NHMRC

1996        Martin Hardie Research Fellowship, Asthma Foundation of NSW

1990        Australian Postgraduate Award, ARC                                                                             

1989        Young Investigator's Award, Royal North Shore Hospital

Dr Kamal Dua is an award-winning pharmaceutics and drug delivery researcher who has deep roots in teaching, research and industry spanning three nations and two continents. He holds two doctoral degrees in Pharmaceutical Sciences and Immunology & Microbiology, and has also completed four professional diplomas in the areas of clinical research, product development, drug regulation, and documentation and intellectual property rights.

In his role as an Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Health at UTS, Dr Dua alongside teaching in the Pharmacy program, also leads a suite of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) courses where, as a Program Coordinator, his responsibilities include coordinating the academic and research activities for those courses.

Drawing on his experience with various pharmacy schools in Australia and overseas, Dr Dua has blended different modes of innovative teaching with traditional teaching modes to create a flexible, student-centred and engaging approach to pedagogy.

Dr Dua is also an Adjunct Professor, Faculty of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Alberta, Canada; Core member, Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine (ARCCIM), UTS; Adjunct Professor, National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM), Southern Cross University, Australia; Adjunct Senior Lecturer, International Medical University and Taylor's University, Malaysia; Adjunct Faculty, Manipal College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, India and Research Associate at the Australia-China Relations Institute (UTS:ACRI). He also held a Conjoint Lecturer position with the School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, The University of Newcastle, Australia and Adjunct Fellow, NICM Health Research Institute, Western Sydney University, Australia.

Dr Dua’s collaborations include working with Dr Michael John Rathbone, former Professor and Dean, School of Pharmacy, at the International Medical University in Malaysia, and founder of ULTI Pharmaceuticals, a veterinary pharmaceutical company based in New Zealand. Kamal is associated as a consultant on quality systems management and GMP for ULTI Pharmaceuticals.

Dr Dua’s academic research has contributed significantly to the field of managing chronic inflammatory diseases, especially airway diseases, using novel nano-carriers to deliver potential therapeutic molecules, including phytoconstituents. His research involves identifying potential key targets regulating the pathophysiology of the disease and formulating them into effective drug delivery systems that could be translated to clinical settings.

Dr Dua has been recognised and named as one of Australia’s Top 250 researchers in 2024, 2025 and 2026 by The Australian's Research Magazine. Dr Dua was ranked #1 in Pharmacology & Pharmacy in 2026 & 2025, and in Toxicology in 2024, respectively, within the research discipline of Health and Medical Sciences, a testament to the excellence of the research undertaken. The award is based on the number of citations for papers published in the top 20 journals in each field over the past five years. Dr Dua has been prolific with his publications to date in top-ranking journals and has built a strong local and international collaboration network as part of that. Moreover, in 2025, Dr Dua was honoured to be selected as a finalist for the New South Wales (NSW) Premier’s Prizes for Science & Engineering in the category of Excellence in Medical Biological Sciences (cell and molecular biology, medical, veterinary, and genetics). This prestigious recognition reflects the significant impact and translational potential of his research in advancing biomedical science within both academic and applied settings.

To date, his research has resulted in more than 190 peer-reviewed publications in various recognised pharmacy and pharmacology journals, with citations exceeding 16,000. He has also presented his research at more than 100 national and international conferences, published more than 70 book chapters, and eleven books on issues ranging from drug delivery and pathophysiological mechanisms underlying respiratory diseases, to cancer.

Dr Dua’s work has been recognised by various awards and fellowships including the Faculty of Health Dean’s Academic Excellence Award for Faculty Engagement (2023, 2019), Excellence Award in Pharmacy (2018), Young Scientist Award (2011), International Association for Dental Research Southeast Asian Division (IADR SEA); Dentsply Student Clinician Program Award (2014); the Educational Workshop Fellowship/Travel award by the World Society for Paediatric Infectious Diseases - WSPID (2011 and 2013); and the Sri. K. Sri Harsha Memorial Gold Medal and Rank Certificate (2004).

Shanlin Fu is Professor of Forensic Toxicology at the Centre for Forensic Science. He is heading the Drugs and Toxicology Group, running an active research program with the primary goal of developing sensitive methods for clinical diagnosis, therapeutic drug monitoring and drugs of abuse testing. In recent years, new psychoactive substances (NPS) such as cathinones, NBOMEs, fentanlys, and nitazines have become a global phenomenon, with thousands of them being discovered in the black drug market. Misuse of these NPS represents a significant health risk to society, especially to the defence force, military forces, and safety-sensitive industry sectors, due to their harmful and sometimes fatal effects. Developing effective strategies of detecting these and emerging NPS becomes one of the Drugs and Toxicology Group's missions. 

Dr Fu's research is supported by >$10m competitive research grant funding from ARC, NHMRC, and other national and international funding schemes since joining UTS in 2008. Dr Fu is internationally recognised for his research excellence with well-developed multidisciplinary expertise in areas such as analytical chemistry, forensic chemistry, medical biochemistry, pharmacology, pharmaceutical sciences, forensic toxicology, and clinical toxicology. As a registered accessUTS consultant, he has regularly acted in an expert capacity as Forensic Toxicologist in cases relating to drugs of abuse testing, providing expert opinion on medico-legal matters and serving as expert witness at court.

Dr Fu's work is not only cutting edge in advancing science and technology as evidenced by his substantial scientific publications in high-impact and leading field-specific journals but also has strong application focus. This aligns strongly with UTS' vision of becoming the world leading university of technology by translating laboratory technology into the real-world applications. Dr Fu's translational research effort culminates in the recent commercialisation of the patented "Cathinone Test" product in the market, with applications in law enforcement sector and potentially in healthcare settings. Development of a multiplexer, a single test device that can simultaneously detect multiple NPS including cathinones, NBOMEs (patented), piperazines, and fentanyl analogues (patented), is among the immediate goals of his research group.

Dr Fu graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in biology in 1982 from Nanjing Normal University and a Master of Science degree in phytochemistry in 1985 from Peking Union Medical College, China.

He was a visiting scientist at Division of Animal Health, CSIRO, Parkville, VIC (1988) and at the Department of Chemistry, University of Tasmania, Hobart, (1989), working on isolation and structural characterisation of natural products. He obtained his PhD degree in pharmaceutical chemistry from University of Sydney in 1993.

He then spent 6 years at the Heart Research Institute Sydney, studying free radical damage to biomolecules such as proteins and its role in atherosclerosis, diabetes and cataracts. In 2000 he was appointed Senior Scientist at the Toxicology Unit, Pacific Laboratory Medicine Services, Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Health. He was in charge of the confirmatory drug testing department, performing drug testing of therapeutic drugs and illicit drugs in biological fluids for clinical as well as medico-legal purposes.

In February 2008, Dr Fu took up an academic position as Senior Lecturer at the University of Technology Sydney, teaching and undertaking research in areas concerning the chemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of licit and illicit drugs. He was promoted to Associate Professor in 2015 and Professor in 2019.

Gareth Kilian is a lecturer of Good Manufacturing Practice in the discipline of Pharmacy at the Graduate School of Health.

Gareth has been registered as a pharmacist with the South African Pharmacy Council since 2002. He began his academic career after completing his community service year at Butterworth Hospital in the rural Eastern Cape in South Africa. He has over 16 years experience in pharmacy education in South Africa at both the Nelson Mandela University and the University of the Western Cape. Gareth was in a technical role for six years at a global pharmaceutical manufacturer in South Africa prior to joining the discipline of Pharmacy at UTS. 

He has also served in various roles in the executive committee of the Academy of Pharmaceutical Sciences of South Africa, being elected as chairman of the organisation from 2019 to 2021.  He has also served as Vice-President: Academy in the National Executive Committee of the Pharmaceutical Society of South Africa.

Gareth's research interests prior to being a stability specialist at Aspen Pharmacare involved investigating the formulation of lipid-based nanoparticles for drug delivery using statistical experimental design. His special interest in statistics has resulted in him providing training across the Aspen Group to various business units focussing on stability data trending and shelf-life prediction as well as statistical process control and optimisation. 

Gareth's teaching experience in pharmacy includes teaching various aspects of pharmaceutics for the undergraduate Bachelor of Pharmacy program as well as developing and presenting the Masters in Pharmacy (Industrial Pharmacy) program at Nelson Mandela University. Apart from pharmaceutics, Gareth has also taught basic pharmacology and anatomy and was part of the team that presented the various clinical modules, focussing on drug delivery, to undergraduate students at Nelson Mandela University.

He has also participated as a pharmaceutics expert in accreditation audit panels for the South African Pharmacy Council at several universities in South Africa offering the Bachelor of Pharmacy program. 

Monica is an experienced clinical community pharmacist who works as an Associate Lecturer in Graduate School of Health, Discipline of Pharmacy at UTS. With over 10 years experience as a pharmacist, Monica has had a varied career working as a GP Education Facilitator at NPS MedicineWise delivering clinical education programs, and as a Medical Science Liason delivering Medicinal Cannabis education to Medical Professionals. Currently also a APHRA pharmacy board examiner, Monica is passionate about pharmacy education and has a passion for health care and pharmacy services. 

Dr Gang Liu is the leader of Tissue Repair and Cancer Group in the School of Life Sciences at UTS. His research focus on understanding the link between tissue damage and cancers (lung cancer and colorectal cancer), and identify new therapies to the diseases. He is also interested in improving the diagnostic and treatments of fibrotic diseases, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF, a chronic lung disease). He has published many papers in high impact journals, including Lancet, Lancet Infect Dis, Eur Resp J, Nat Commun.

Dr Liu completed his Master of Science in Biotechnology in University of Wollongong (2011). He awarded his PhD in Fibrotic lung disease research at the University of Newcastle in 2016. His PhD research about understanding the role of extracellular matrix proteins (a type of structural protein) in lung diseases, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), severe asthma and IPF. He was a postdoctoral research fellow in Priority Research Centre for Healthy Lung at University of Newcastle (2016-2017), and his research about understanding mast cells (a type of immune cells) regulate fibrosis in lung diseases. He then appointed as his second postdoctoral fellow at Priority Research Centre for Digestive Health and Neurogastroenterology at Hunter Medical Research Institute and University of Newcastle (2017-2019). His research was about understanding the inflammation crosslink between gut and lung, and fibrotic structure in gut diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer.

Dr Liu was the leader of Fibrosis Node at Centre for Inflammation at UTS and Centenary Institute (2019-2024). He was leading the fibrotic research program in the research Centre to understand the process of fibrosis (tissue scar) in lung diseases. Dr Liu was awarded CREATE Hope Scientific Fellowship in Pulmonary Fibrosis research from Lung Foundation Australia (2022) to investigate the mechanism of lung fibrosis development in IPF. Dr Liu then established his own research group at UTS in early 2024.

Dr. Keshav Raj Paudel worked for nearly seven years at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Faculty of Science, progressing from Postdoctoral Research Fellow to Lecturer (Level B2), and concluded his employment at the end of November 2025. He currently holds an honorary appointment as a Visiting Scholar at UTS–Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology (FEIT).

His research focuses on chronic respiratory diseases, investigating disease progression and evaluating the pharmacological activity of novel drug candidates in asthma, airway remodeling, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer. His work employs in vitro, in vivo, and ex vivo experimental models, integrating molecular, immunological, and biochemical approaches.

Dr. Paudel has a strong interest in elucidating cell signaling pathways underlying inflammation-related disorders triggered by environmental pollutants, including bushfire smoke, particulate matter, urban and traffic-derived air pollutants, and microplastics.

He was a joint fellowship recipient of the Prevent Cancer Foundation and the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) Foundation, contributing to a project focused on identifying biomarkers for the early detection of lung cancer. He is currently involved in a major research program investigating the impact of bushfire smoke on respiratory health, supported by the Australian Government’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), the HEAL Network, Triple I Seed Grant, and the TSANZ Grant-in-Aid.

In addition, he is engaged in drug delivery research exploring the therapeutic potential of phytochemical-loaded nanoformulations in in vitro models of respiratory diseases, supported by competitive seed funding and industry collaborations.

Dr. Paudel also serves as an academic/associate editor for several international journals and is regularly invited to review manuscripts, PhD theses, and competitive research grant applications.

Tristan Rawling is an Associate Professor of medicinal chemistry at UTS. His research spans drug discovery and chemical biology with a focus on fatty acids, membranes, synthetic anion transporters and molecules that affect mitochondrial function.

A major theme of Tristan’s research group is the therapeutic potential and toxicology of small molecules that interact with mitochondrial membranes. Synthetic anion transporters are compounds that can bind to and transport anions across lipid bilayers. Tristan’s group has shown that these compounds can act as mitochondrial uncouplers, with potential applications as anticancer agents and weight loss drugs. Our group also studies the interactions of delocalised lipophilic cations, which includes certain ionic liquids, with the inner mitochondrial membrane as a potential mechanism of cytotoxicity.

Tristan’s research also focuses on the development of novel lipid-derived drug candidates, and he has worked on two collaborative drug discovery projects in this area. These projects produced promising new compounds for the treatment of cancer and chronic pain, and have attracted over $3 000 000 in funding from the NHMRC and industry partners.

Tristan completed a PhD in synthetic chemistry at UTS, followed by postdoctoral research position at the University of Sydney where he worked in drug development. In 2013 he was awarded a highly competitive UTS Chancellor Postdoctoral Fellowship and then secured an academic appointment in the Faculty of Science at UTS. He has served Discipline Leader (Chemistry) and Program Director.

Dr. Singh's research focuses on developing advanced drug delivery systems using nanoparticles. These include lipid-based systems, self-nanoemulsifying drug delivery systems, nano-emulsions, and nano-capsules. He uses Quality by Design (QbD) to carefully study and improve the key factors that make these drug delivery systems effective and reliable. To save time and reduce costs, he uses software like GastroPlus® to predict how drugs will behave in the body before conducting animal or human studies. So far, Dr. Singh has guided 40 undergraduate students, 27 postgraduate students, and 9 PhD scholars in their research.

Dr. Singh completed his Master of Pharmacy in Pharmaceutics from Panjab University, Chandigarh, where he gained a strong foundation in drug formulation and delivery. He earned his PhD from the Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, focusing on Self-Emulsifying Drug Delivery Systems for drugs that are not easily soluble in water. He later pursued postdoctoral research at Pukyong National University in South Korea, working on developing nanoparticles using marine materials and the QbD approach.

He has also successfully completed two research projects focused on lipid-based drug delivery systems for treating tuberculosis.